Blog By Tania Joyce

My wrap up of the RWA Conference - Sydney Olympic Park Aug 7-10, 2014

This was my third RWA conference and yet again it proved to be a mind-blowing, information overloading, fun weekend.

The Friday workshop with James Scott Bell was excellent. His book on Plot and Structure was awesome and to have all that information on the LOCK system, mirror moments, character dialogues, scenes and more presented in a funny and humorous way with the support of film clips has now been embedded permanently into my brain. And when I came home, I simply had to watch Casablanca again!

Ah! The infamous cocktail party was a blast. I would’ve hated to be the cleaner responsible for cleaning up my room as I think it is forever coated in glitter. It was everywhere!!! Hairspray, makeup and clothing. My motto - If all else fails, add more glitter! And I did. At the Leather and Lace cocktail party I loved all the costumes. I’ve never had my legs photographed so much in all my life. My Kylie Minogue (Brit 2002 Awards) inspired outfit was a hoot to wear again. Kylie Rocks!!! And I do love my boots.

Cherry Adair was the highlight of the conference for me. With her riotous talks, quick wit, quirky nature, I’m now a true fan! In all her jumping around and diversion in topics, I was surprised at how well I kept up with her train of thought. Us writer’s must all be alike with so much going on in our heads! I learnt so much and I am already loving Cherry Adair’s Writer’s Bible and using it on my next manuscript.

At the Gala award dinner it was great to see everyone dressed up for the evening out. Emma Darcy inducted into the Hall of Fame was sensational. We'll never forgot the five F's! The biggest YEAH of the conference though, was my good friend and writing buddy, Kendall Talbot, winning the Ruby Award for Romantic Suspense Novel of the year. your muppet reference speech will go down in history. Phenomenal! Congratulations again. Lost in Kakadu was an amazing novel. Kendall, you’re such an inspiration to me.

The conference sessions where fantastic. The talk from Smashwords was an eye opener. The publisher and agent panels enlightening. All the sessions I attended helped me learn a little bit more about the industry and will improve my writing as a result of this wonderful event. I even stumbled through a couple of pitches and have forwarded my manuscript off to a few publishers ….and now the waiting begins.

Finally it was great to catch up with old friends and make a whole lot of new friends. See you all at the next RWA conference in Melbourne.